Next To You
by Love-On-Every-Page
Summary: This is Xiao Nai's perspective on sitting next to Weiwei in the history lecture. Episode 5.


Greetings, folks!

I have watched Love O2O more times than I can count and I am always wondering how the stunning Xiao Nai might think or feel as he falls in love for the first (and only) time.

I am going to be writing a few of these telling the beautiful story from Xiao Nai's perspective. If you have any recommendations, please let me know.

I hope you enjoy,

Love-On-Every-Page

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**NEXT TO YOU**

by Love-On-Every-Page

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It was foreign to him—how _desperately_ he wanted to be near her.

Since March, as _Xiao Nai, _not as Yixiao Naihe, he hadn't said a _word_ to her. But, he kept _seeing_ her—at the cafeteria, in the library, on the track each morning—and, because he was so _tired_ of her not seeing him, Nai had reduced himself to _this._

Near the front, probably the _only_ one working, was Bei Weiwei—the Department Belle, as Banshan had called her. In that moment, when no one had noticed him, too absorbed in their whining about his father's lectures or engrossed on their phones, Nai wasn't _the_ Xiao Nai—instead, he was just a man, captivated by a beautiful, intelligent, _powerful_ woman, who didn't seem to know that Nai existed. _Move, _he ordered himself, taking each step to her purposely—_just ask to sit next to her._

As he passed a group, he heard one girl complaining "—lectures are boring anyway" before he came to a stop.

"Is this seat taken?"

It was done, and when she looked up, her eyes slightly narrowed from the interruption, something other people were unlikely to notice because she was careful, she—_Bei Weiwei, _he wanted to greet, but that wasn't the plan—_finally _saw him.

Before she breathed "No", everything about her changed and Nai committed it—_her—_to memory. When her eyes had lifted and found him, they had widened so very, _very_ slightly in the awe Nai had grown used to whenever he appeared on campus, but her eyes softened too, as if Weiwei was as captivated by him as Nai was by her. Her head tilted slowly and, though Nai told himself _not_ to notice, because Weiwei's hold over him was already irrevocably absolute, her lips—which were just too pink and encouraged feelings Nai was completely inexperienced with—parted faintly, and Nai _almost_ smiled.

As soon as he joined her, Nai was conscious of the smartphones around them but, rather than be irritated by the never ending _click!s_ filling the lecture hall, he was somewhat grateful. The university was fuelled by gossip and, though Nai preferred to keep himself separate from that, the idea of pictures of the two of them _together_ on every forum was appealing.

Behind him, one girl whispered "I can't believe he's really here!" and heard another telling _click!_ from a phone.

Another asked "Is that _really_ Xiao Nai?" eagerly, and her friend confirmed it was.

But, more than any of that, Nai noticed when Weiwei's hand crept slowly onto his desk to steal the stationary case out of his way, which Nai would have gladly kept for the hour's lecture. _If only we were in the game—_there, Weiwei seemed relaxed.

Carefully, because Nai _knew_ that his behaviour came alarmingly close to that of a stalker, he watched her through his peripheral vision and saw her hand cover her face in embarrassment, something Nai could now imagine every time he teased Luwei Weiwei in the game. _Why are you so perfect?_ he wanted to demand, because _no one_ had ever made Nai feel so _uncertain_ and _clueless_ before, and Nai was struggling to compose himself by just being next to her. Glancing at her reference guide, he bit the inside of his lip—it was the advanced guide and it was _littered_ with precise notes and sophisticated concepts of her own.

Nai had never envisioned the perfect woman before, though his dorm-mates had often tried to select one for him, and he doubted an imagination could piece together everything that made Bei Weiwei so…_perfect._ _An advanced scholarship, top battle ranking, _he listed, because Nai had learned as much about the woman who dominated his thoughts as he could—_beautiful._

In front of them, a girl whispered "Let's take a picture" to her friend and flipped the camera to find him—and Weiwei.

Then, after another _click!, _the girl in the white was up and unashamedly moving to sit beside Weiwei, propping her chin on a hand and just _staring, _which Nai loathed. _Don't, _he wanted to say but Weiwei had already started to inch backwards.

Nai hoped that by doing that, his heart could take a break from the thunderous rhythm it had adopted in his chest but, instead of seeing her, Nai could _feel_ her. When she picked up her second reference book his fingers _itched_ to help her, when Weiwei shifted very slightly into a new position his body _ached_ to be closer to her, and when he heard a _rustle!_ come from her Nai just had to look.

And their eyes met. Over her reference book.

It was only for a heartbeat—a snapshot of time—but it told Nai everything he needed to know.

If she wasn't attracted to him, why had _she_ been studying _him?_ If she wasn't interested in _the_ Xiao Nai, why had _she_ been peering over the top of her book to admire _him?_ If she was merely curious, why had she guiltily hidden behind her book?

The next ten minutes disappeared in a blur. Nai was aware of the lecture hall filling up—and of the girls that took photographs of him—but his thoughts were filled with Weiwei, who had stayed permanently hidden behind the reference book but that was a perfect solution. _If she looks at me like that again, _he knew, taking a steadying breath—_I won't resist her._

Then, as soon as the door opened, introducing his father, Weiwei lowered her book, straightened, and focused her attention on his father and Nai closed his eyes for a moment, in awe of her respect yet absurdly irritated by it. When his father laughed and announced "I'm not really used to seeing so many students in my class" and rightly decided "I'm wondering if you're really here for my class" Weiwei was perhaps the only person who didn't feign interest in his father. When he instructed "I'd like _one_ of you to answer that" everyone—bar Weiwei, who had 100% attendance and knew the previous material—looked away.

"The female student—" he elected, and Nai inwardly cursed "—sitting next to the boy in the white shirt."

Weiwei replied "Me?" and Nai knew his father had selected her purposely, likely thinking Weiwei was like the others.

"Yes, you."

When she started talking, speaking unhurriedly and intelligently about The Han Tombs of Mawangdui, his father's attitude towards her instantly changed. _She attends your classes, _he wanted to scold his father, and it seemed almost petulant in his head as he listened to her. As soon as she mentioned the medical manuscripts, his father became visible impressed.

Nai braved looking up to her as she spoke, intriguing the masses that had descended on his father's class in the hope of seeing Xiao Nai instead of learning anything, and the word _perfect_ crossed his mind more times than he could count. Just like in the game, Weiwei rose to the challenge—disregarding the preconceptions people may have made of her—and effortlessly mesmerised his father with her independent research, her understanding of archaeological findings, and her honest disappointment that the silk manuscripts had been damaged and their secrets lost. _This is your future daughter-in-law, _he wanted to say.

Smiling, his father waved her back into her seat and said "Looks like I'm down on luck today" with a pleased laugh. As soon as he said "I was quite handsome in my day, too" Nai wanted to disappear, but Weiwei laughed kindly next to him.

As one, the class sang "We believe you, Professor!" but Weiwei turned her attention to him, and their eyes met _again._

_Damn it, _he cursed when her smile faded. Nai was irritated by his father's tactless announcement that everyone was in attendance just to see _the_ Xiao Nai—which seemed to be how everyone addressed him, even when Nai could hear—and Weiwei read it from his eyes, which _no one_ had been able to do before. As if _she_ had done something horrendously wrong by smiling at him, she turned away and lowered her eyes, and Nai set his on the top line of his book, unable to apologise.

The hour passed with little else happening. Nai heard nothing of his father's lecture, which was as lifeless as it usually was, because his mind was occupied with Weiwei, and how Weiwei hadn't looked at him _once _since Nai had glared at her.

"Let's stop there for today," his father called. "I hope to see you all again next time," his tone said he knew he wouldn't.

Again, the group chorused "We'll be here, Professor!" in perfect unison.

Nai wanted to say something to her, to ease the awkward air that had settled between them when he had _foolishly_ glared at the woman he couldn't stop thinking about, but didn't. Instead, hoping _she_ might said something, Nai turned to a new page—having read _none _of the previous two—and was _horrified_ as Weiwei began packing her things away and into her bag.

Cameras were surrounding them again, taking more photographs that Nai would delete later, with people talking about him as if he wasn't there, but he heard Weiwei clear her throat pointedly. Though he didn't want to, because the moment she left his time with her would end, Nai asked "You want to get out?" and, rather than answer, Weiwei nodded silently, giving a tight smile that paled drastically to the one Nai had frightened off of her beautiful face only an hour ago.

Reluctantly, he stood and when he pivoted, Weiwei was already on her feet.

_I'm sorry, _he wanted to say, though Nai wasn't fluent in giving apologies—he was sure, he would only apologise to her.

Nai's heart froze when she stopped. _You're the only one I want to be like them, _he knew, thinking of the countless girls who'd surrounded him the moment his father left the hall. Weiwei could take his picture and idolise him and stare longingly at him—_but then, you wouldn't be you._ When she took off again, Nai felt his eyes widen in surprise—_she didn't even look back at me._

All of his life, though Nai paid very little mind to it, largely because his mother would never allow him to be egotistical, girls had rotated around him, always trying to get his attention. He was everything women found appealing—_handsome, intelligent, reserved, from an academic background, _he listed, never once feeling the need to console himself with nonsense he'd never been interested in before—but Bei Weiwei had _gone, _without a second hesitation. Just, _gone._ Practically _running_ away from him.

_Would you run away from Yixiao Naihe?_ he wondered, descending the final steps himself. _Or would you run to him?_

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**THE END**

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To some, Nai may seem a little out of character (since this story is about the feelings he attempts to hide), but I tried to keep it true to him.

Again, if there are any scenes you would like to see Nai's perspective of, please let me know.

TTFN

Love-On-Every-Page


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